Jay Kolls, MD

CD4+ T cell and Lung Immunity: lessons from HIV and primary immunodeficiencies

January 28, 2026 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm (ET)

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Portrait of Dr. Jay Kolls

The American Society for Clinical Investigation is proud to present the ASCI Scientific Sessions: a bi-monthly spotlight on distinguished investigators and their contributions to biomedical research. The Scientific Sessions are free and open to all, with a goal to create a space for our community, beyond the ASCI’s annual meeting, to gather and celebrate discovery.

Jay Kolls, MD is Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, the John W. Deming Endowed Chair in Internal Medicine, and Director, Center for Translational Research in Infection and Inflammation at Tulane University School of Medicine. Dr. Kolls received his BS in Physics from Ursinus College, his MD from the University of Maryland, conducted his residency in Medicine/Pediatrics at Louisiana State University (LSU) Charity Hospital, completed an adult pulmonary fellowship at LSU Health Sciences Center and a pediatric pulmonary fellowship at Tulane School of Medicine, and completed his postdoctoral fellowship in the lab of Dr. Bruce Beutler.

Dr. Kolls has pioneered several areas of bio-medical research. His initial work showed that ethanol can directly inhibit enzymatic cleavage and release of TNF-alpha contributing to impaired pulmonary host defenses. Moreover, he showed that this defect in TNF synthesis could be overcome by interferon-gamma treatment in macrophages. Building on further understanding mechanisms of pulmonary immunity, Kolls made seminal insights to both innate and adaptive immunity to this pathogen. Kolls’ later work contributed significantly to our current understanding of Th17 cells as a distinct arm of mucosal immunity. Kolls has subsequently demonstrated that IL-17 is a bio-marker of disease in CF and is currently pioneering efforts to develop Th17 based vaccines that can potentially provide serotype-independent immunity to prevent bacterial pneumonia.

Dr. Kolls is an elected member of the ASCI and the AAP.

This session will be moderated by Julie Bastarache, MD, ASCI President-Elect and Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.